The 10th-seeded Boston University women’s basketball team will take on a seventh-seeded American University Saturday afternoon in the nation’s capital in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament.
The encounter will serve as the third time the Terriers (3-26, 3-15 Patriot League) have played the Eagles (7-22, 5-13 Patriot League) this season. In the first matchup at Case Gym, BU came away with a narrow 63-59 victory. The second meeting was far from the first, as American defeated BU by a 79-33 margin. The 46-point loss was the Terriers’ biggest defeat of the season.
BU head coach Katy Steding said she believes a win hinges on the Terriers’ ball security and patience. She has praised her team’s improvement in these areas, but she also acknowledged that there is room for improvement.
“We are concentrating that this a good matchup for us,” Steding said. “American has gotten better, and I believe we have too … We have to make sure we get the ball in the right hands and the right time.”
Graduate student guard Troi Melton has been playing at a high level as of late. She averages 7.9 points on the year and brings down 4.4 boards a game. Steding believes Melton will be a key to victory if she is put in the right position to succeed.
“When Troi has an opening, she really can get past anybody in the league,” Steding said. “She is that explosive. She has a quick first step and she can elevate. They are going to key on her, so we have to make sure [sophomore forward] Kara Sheftic, [sophomore guard] Meghan Doogan and [sophomore guard] Corrine Williams are involved to keep their defense on their toes.”
Doogan has also thrived as of late, as she’s led BU in scoring in two of its last five games. Along with Melton, she could potentially give the Eagles trouble throughout the game.
Despite the Terriers’ record, they have improved as the season has gone on. Steding has commented about the team defense improvement many times toward the end of the season.
“When we come out aggressively on defense and our hands are active and we’re working together, our defense feeds our offense,” Steding said. “This happened with our win at Colgate. When we aren’t waiting for them to initiate their offense and we are aggressive on defense, then we could definitely be successful.”
While the Terriers have struggled to rack up wins, they certainly have a chance when they travel to face the Eagles on Saturday, as they have beaten them before and have improved throughout the season.
Steding has faith in her team. She believes the Terriers can walk away with a win if they can perform to the best of their abilities and execute the game plan the coaches have laid out. She did acknowledge that the last three games haven’t exactly showcased their improvement, but the Terriers did start off the year 0-15 and have gone 3-11 since.
“We have to do as much as we can to keep ourselves fresh, but also look to get steals and look to be active without being too overzealous,” Steding said. “If we do that, we could potentially walk out of the first round with a win.”
